2012 Montana Voters Pass Initiative 166 Declaring That Corporations Are Not People

Despite personal assurance from the Secretary of State herself that the ballots from Yellowstone County would be finished by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 7, 7% of Montana's ballots have still not been accounted for. All but a few hundred of the unaccounted votes will effect the initiatives.

Initiative 166 will easily pass. It has the second highest support of any of the 2012 initiatives pulling 74.70% of the vote. Over 374,000 votes were cast in favor of the initiative while less than 100,000 voters came out against it.

7: 14 a.m. Nov. 7 -

With 543 precincts fully reporting and partial reports from the rest, there is little chance that initiative 166 won't pass. There are currently 326,925 votes in favor of the measure and 110,747 votes against.

10:55 -

With 38 of 794 precincts reporting, Initiative 166 is receiving overwhelming support in early voting with 76% in support and 23% against.

If passed, initiative 166 would not extend constitutional rights to corporations and would not allow Montana lawmakers to legally view corporations as persons. It also forces Montana's Congressional delegation to present an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that "corporations are not human beings entitled to constitutional rights."

The full text of the initiative as it appears in 2012 ballots appears below.

A LAW PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION
Ballot initiative I-166 establishes a state policy that corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights because they are not human beings, and charges Montana elected and appointed officials, state and federal, to implement that policy. With this policy, the people of Montana establish that there should be a level playing field in campaign spending, in part by prohibiting corporate campaign contributions and expenditures and by limiting political spending in elections. Further, Montana's congressional delegation is charged with proposing a joint resolution offering an amendment to the United States Constitution establishing that corporations are not human beings entitled to constitutional rights.